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Best Value Soccer Pick for Man U vs. West Brom EPL Fixture

Premier League betting enters week 12 with several standout matches to spot, including the clash between Manchester United and West Bromwich Albion. Here’s a preview complete with soccer picks.

Manchester United Favored
Manchester United enter the weekend’s round of Premier League betting action as the firm home favourites trading at significantly short soccer odds of -300 at Bet365. The Red Devils are fourth in the domestic table, four points adrift of league-leading Manchester City. Importantly, they have yet to lose at home this season, but a recent run of draws, marked by scoring woes, have us wondering whether they deserve to be such overwhelming favourites to win straight up.

Manchester United are 6-3-2 on the season with 21 points. At home, they boast a 3-2-0 mark, which is underscored by scoring seven goals and conceding just one. All well and good, which underscores their favoritism on the soccer odds board. However, there’s just one teeny, weeny, problem – only the keenest eye for detail might spot – and that is there’s a perceptible dip in form of late.

Louis Van Gaal’s boys are without a Premier League win in their last two engagements – a scoreless draw to Man City at the Old Trafford and a scoreless draw to Crystal Palace on the road – and interspersed between those results is a loss to Middlesbrough in League Cup. This dip In form began a fortnight ago when they travelled to Moscow for Champions League action and deposited a 1-1 draw. The recently did snap that negative trend with a 1-0 win over CSKA Moskva at the Old Trafford, but it remains to be seen whether they can carry the momentum into the weekend’s date with West Bromwich Albion.

West Bromwich Albion Massive Road Underdogs
West Bromwich Albion are such massive road underdogs in this game, trading at whopping +1100 soccer odds that they are the quintessential no-hopers. The chance they would mastermind the upset at the Old Trafford is slim to none. Heck, even the draw is priced firmly out of the realm of reasonable probability at +425 soccer odds at Bet365. But do the bookies have it right?

West Bromwich are sat in 12th place in the table behind a 4-2-5 mark and 14 points. At home, they’ve struggled with a 1-1-4 mark and scoring seven goals to 12 conceded. However, on the road, they are 3-1-1 this season with three goals scored and just two conceded. In fact, the two goals conceded came only recently to Crystal Palace in week 10 of the Premier League. Prior to that, the Baggies held Watford to a scoreless draw and beat Aston Villa, Stoke City and Norwich by a 1-0 score.

Obviously, Manchester United pose a different challenge on the road for Tony Pulis and his Baggies, sure to test their road mettle at the Old Trafford. Sill, West Brom have room for optimism. It’s not as if the Red Devils are infallible – consider they settled on a scoreless draw to Newcastle United earlier this season. As well, had the Spurs not scored an own goal in the season opener between the pair at the Old Trafford, the game would have certainly ended on a not-so-riveting scoreless draw too.

Soccer Betting Verdict
It’s hard to gage this Manchester United side. One minute they’re playing free-flowing offensive football, another they’ve got the attacking intensity of a new born kitten. As such, it’s reasonable to assume they could steamroll West Bromwich on Saturday or just as easily grind out a lacklustre win or draw that would make watching paint dry a more exhilarating enterprise for the weekend.

We’re having none of it and passing on their -300 soccer odds to win straight up. Just too much money to put down on a team that doesn’t have a clear identity in our opinion.

The notion of the upset is a highly tempting soccer pick though, not to mention the lovely price tag that goes along with it. If West Brom were to pull out the rabbit at the Old Trafford, the pay day would make all our Christmas come early. Problem is that it’s a risky play and while the Baggies do have a road record that is impressive, the absence of a truly quality opponent over the course of that run of form takes the shine off of their soccer odds. So, we’re giving the Baggies a pass in money line betting as well. That leaves us with soccer picks in goal betting markets and totals. Given that Tony Pulis and his lads are sure to bring a disciplined game plan to the Old Trafford, we’re leaning towards a low-scoring affair.